Campaign for NEW Scholarship funds marks College's Centennial

Dean Thomas C. Vogelmann invites you to help celebrate the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ first one hundred years by being part of a scholarship fund drive to help launch its second century. Fundraising efforts are underway to reach a goal of $1.0 million worth of new endowed undergraduate scholarship funds or graduate fellowship funds as a permanent tribute to the College’s 2011 centennial anniversary.

The act of establishing an endowed scholarship fund is one of the most meaningful and lasting ways to support the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is also one of the most rewarding gifts to make in that it gives the donor the satisfaction of seeing the results bestowed year after year upon deserving students.

Named undergraduate endowments may be established with a contribution of $50,000 or more while named graduate fellowship endowments begin at $250,000. A gift agreement setting forth the criteria for the scholarship award (e.g., college-wide or department-specific; for Vermont students or for any qualified student; need-based, merit-based or a combination of the two) is prepared in consultation with the donor and, once agreed upon, is signed along with the terms of a pledge payment agreement. The endowment may be established by a single gift or through a series of payments over up to five years. The scholarship or fellowship award will not begin to be issued until after the endowment reaches the $50,000 or $250,000 minimum requirement, respectively.

Pledge agreements above the $50,000 or $250,000 minimum thresholds, however, may be structured to allow a portion of each pledge payment to be used to make the scholarship or fellowship award at the same time the endowment pledge is being fulfilled over a multiyear period. For example, a donor may pledge $120,000 to establish a named undergraduate scholarship fund payable over four years. Each $30,000 pledge payment would allocate $25,000 toward the endowment principal and $5,000 toward the scholarship award itself.

Whether establishing an endowed scholarship fund in memory of a loved one or to honor a former professor, your gift will have an immediate and lasting impact on the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It will strengthen the College’s means to attract and retain highly qualified students and help the students achieve their potential throughout their degree program and beyond. For more information about endowed scholarship and fellowship funds, please contact College Development Officer Howard Lincoln, (802) 656-2509 or Howard.Lincoln@uvm.edu or visit the College’s webpage outlining charitable giving options.